Inaugural 2011 Texas Robot Round-up!

[TINCAN foodgas]

FIRST FRC #2881 The Lady Cans would like to invite the Texas Robot Round Up teams to a social event on Friday July 29th.

If you will be coming into Austin for the Friday practices please respond.

schrich@swbell.net

[TINCAN foodgas]

Hotels, Restaurants, Shopping & Gas Stations within 3 miles of Anderson High School. Yell if you have any more questions. Looking forward to a fun weekend. Susie Rich schrich@swbell.net


Anderson High School 8403 Mesa Drive Austin TX 78759

Hotels, Shops & Restaurants within 1.5 miles of Anderson High School

Hotels-
Holiday Inn –Executive Park/Mopac (less than a mile)

Stores
Randalls –Mesa Drive(Starbucks)
HEB – Farwest Drive
Walgreens- Mesa Drive
CVS – Farwest Drive
UPS Copy & Mail Center- Mesa Drive
Post Office – Farwest Drive
Valero-Mesa Drive
Chevron – Farwest Drive
Shell – North Hills
Farwest Hardware- Farwest Drive
Radio Shack - Farwest Drive


Restaurants
Dominos Pizza – Mesa Drive
Snow House Yogurt- Farwest
Wally Burgers – Mesa Drive
Wendy’s – Farwest Dr
Molcas Mexican Food –Mesa Drive
El Arroyo Mexican – Farwest
Brookly Pie – Mesa Drive
Gattis Pizza – Farwest Dr
Subway – Mesa Drive
Quiznos –Farwest Dr
Mesa Ranch – Mesa Drive
Boulevard Grill- Farwest Dr
Mangia’s Pizza – Mesa Drive
Indian Palace – Farwest Dr
Torchy’s Taco- Spicewood Springs Rd
La Salsa – Farwest Dr
Taco Shack – Spicewood Springs Rd
Wendy’s – Farwest Dr
Triumph Café – Spicewood Springs Rd
Starbucks – Farwest Dr
China Café – Spicewood Springs Rd
China Sea – Farwest Dr.
Super Donuts – Farwest Dr
Neworld Café – Farwest Dr


Hotels, Shops & Restaurants within 3 miles of Anderson in the Gateway or Arborwalk shopping areas

Hampton Inn,
Spring Hill Suites by Marriott,
Courtyard by Marriott,
Residence Inn by Marriott
Staybridge Suites
Embassy Suites
Homewood Suites by Hilton

Arbor Walk Shops & Restaurants
http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=1224

Gateway Shops & Restaurants
http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=856

Arboretum Shops & Restaurants
http://www.simon.com/mall/?id=384

[jessjank.]

Hi All! I was finally able to get an email out to teams today. Thank you so much for your patience. I'm going to post all relevant pieces below grouped by topic. We're really looking forward to Texas Robot Round-up and hope you are too!

As always, please feel free to contact myself (jessjank@gmail.com) or our Alamo Regional Director, Patrick Felty (pfelty@usfirst.org) if you have any questions. We're looking forward to seeing you all at the inaugural Texas Robot Round-up!

[jessjank.]

LOCATION & SITE INFO:

Anderson High School
8403 Mesa Drive
Austin, Texas 78759

The field and stands will be in the large gym of Anderson High School. Pits will be in the cafeteria. Teams will have 10ft x 10ft pits.

Concessions will be available on site and will serve as fundraising for the host team (2158). There are also a variety of grocery stores and restaurants close to the event.

An email with parking and unloading instructions, campus layout map, and more will be sent closer to the date of the event.


UPDATED EVENT SCHEDULE:

This schedule is subject to change as necessary. We will also be holding workshops, presentations, and meetings throughout the event.**

Friday, July 29, 2011 (OPTIONAL DAY)
12:00 PM - Doors Open
1:00 PM - Practice Matches Begin
4:00 PM - Practice Matches End
4:30 PM - Mentor Tournament**
6:30 PM - Pits close
7:00 PM - Team Social**

Saturday, July 30, 2011
8:00 AM - Doors Open
9:00 AM - Opening Ceremonies
9:30 AM - Matches Begin
12:00 PM - Lunch Break
12:00 PM - Skills Challenge**
1:00 PM - Matches Resume
3:00 PM - Matches End
3:00 PM - Alliance Selection
3:30 PM - Eliminations Begin
6:00 PM - Eliminations End
6:00 PM - Awards**
6:30 PM - Pits Close
7:00 PM - Team Activity TBA

** See below

[jessjank.]

TEAMS IN ATTENDANCE:

We have 29 teams registered. We have the capacity for a few more teams so this might change. Please let me know if you have any corrections to your team's information.

57 - Leopards, Booker T Washington/HSEP - Houston, TX
118 - The Robonauts, Clear Creek ISD - League City, TX
148 - Robowranglers, Greenville HS - Greenville, TX
418 - Purple Haze, LASA - Austin, TX
457 - Grease Monkeys, South San Antonio HS - San Antonio, TX
624 - CRyptonite, Cinco Ranch HS - Katy, TX
647 - Cyberwolves, Robert M. Shoemaker HS STEM Academy - Killeen, TX
653 - NOSIDE, Edison HS - San Antonio, TX
1296 - Full Metal Jackets, Rockwall HS - Rockwall, TX
1429 - Team KAOS, Galena Park HS - Galena Park, TX
1477 - Texas Torque, The Woodlands College Park HS - The Woodlands, TX
2158 - ausTIN CANs, Anderson HS - Austin, TX
2468 - Team Appreciate, Westlake HS - Austin, TX
2583 - Westwood Robotics, Westwood HS - Austin, TX
2587 - The DiscoBots, Lamar HS - Houston, TX
2789 - TechXsplosion, Manor New Tech HS - Manor, TX
2881 - Lady Cans, Girl Scouts of Central Texas - Austin, TX
2936 - Gatorzillas, Dickinson HS - Dickinson, TX
2952 - Brackenbots, Brackenridge HS - San Antonio, TX
2969 - Hurricane Robotics, Sam Houston HS - San Antonio, TX
3103 - Iron Plaid, Duchesne Academy - Houston, TX
3310 - Team Black Hawk, Rockwall-Heath HS - Heath, TX
3320 - Miracles & Machines, Eastside Memorial HS - Austin, TX
3335 - Cypress Ranch Robotics Team, Cypress Ranch HS - Cypress, TX
3355 - Summit International Prep, Summit International Preparatory - Arlington, TX
3481 - Brandeis Bronc Botz, Brandeis HS - San Antonio, TX
3735 - Klein Bots, Klein HS - Klein, TX
XXXX(pre-rookie) - Shadetree Mechanics - Killeen, TX
XXXX(pre-rookie) - Screaming Chickens - San Antonio, TX

[jessjank.]

GAME FIELD & RULES:

Teams will play a modified version of Logo Motion on an official FIRST field supplied and staffed by AndyMark.

There will be some changes put into place at Texas Robot Round-Up (similar to those being used at IRI this year for those who are familiar with that event) that will hopefully help improve game play and make things better for teams. We will make sure to notify you of any additional changes prior to the event.

Scoring:
- Ubertubes can be scored in teleop. Ubertubes scored during don't count for points, but they are still counted as doublers.
- Scoring on the highest row is 3 points per tube, middle and bottom rows are 2 points per tube
- Minibot Races: 1st and 2nd place: 20 points, 3rd and 4th place: 10 points

Penalties:
<G23> The original rule calls for a penalty and a Red Card for any contact with the opponent's tower. This is changed to just a penalty for incidental contact, and a red card for intentional contact.
<G33> The original rule calls for a penalty for breaking the plane of the opponents' lane. This is changed to a penalty when a robot drives into the opponents' lane or any breaking of the plane that would interfere with or impede an opposing robot would be a penalty regardless of duration. Teams will not be penalized for momentary incidental crossing of the line into the lane.


**MENTOR TOURNAMENT:

A Mentor Tournament is planned for Friday, July 29th at 4:30 PM. The above rules will apply. Alliances of 3 teams will play in finals type matches (no qualifications). Depending on the number of interested teams, we may start at Semi Finals. The alliance with the highest summed score at the end of two matches will move on to the next round (ie we will not be playing the traditional best 2 out of 3).

Drivers and Human Players must have graduated high school in 2010 or earlier - they do not necessarily have to be mentors on your team (they can be parents, teachers, sponsors, etc) and if necessary you may pull people from another team. Coaches may be either high school students or adults.

The order of alliance selections will be determined by the number of cans your team brings for the Canned Food Drive** (See below).

If your teams is interested in participating in the mentor tournament, please send an email to jessjank@gmail.com with the subject "TTR Mentor Tournament - Team ####". Please include the contact information of at least one member of the Mentor Drive Team in your email.


**SKILLS CHALLENGE:

A Skills Challenge is planned for Saturday, July 30th at noon. Each interested team will have one opportunity to score as many points as possible during a match consisting of 15 seconds of autonomous and 1 minute (60 seconds) of teleop. Two teams will compete on the field during a match, however, teams will not be allowed to cross the the midfield line (There should be absolutely NO contact between robots). Crossing the midfield line will result in a disqualification from the Skills Tournament. The team's human player will be on the same side of the field as their team, supplying the field with tubes. Teams will have access to 6 of each Logo piece and 3 Ubertubes. The team who scores the most points overall will be the Skills Challenge Champion.

Your team can sign up for the Skills Challenge when you check in at the event, or can send an email to jessjank@gmail.com with the subject "TRR Skills Tournament - Team ####".

[jessjank.]

**WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS:

There will be a series of meetings and workshops available for teams to participate in during the event. You will be able to sign up to attend these A full list of the meetings, details, and schedule will be provided closer to the date. A sampling of what will/may occur includes LabView Training provided by National Instruments, a NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentors Organization) Meeting, Business Plan workshop, a Central Texas Robotics Alliance meeting, and more. There will also be an interest meeting for those looking to get involved with planning next years off-season, which we hope to grow to even bigger, better proportions.

If you have an idea of a workshop, meeting, or presentation you would like to provide to teams during the event, please fill out the following form: https://spreadsheets.google.com/spre...1qaWc6MQ#gid=0


**AWARDS:

The event will not have Judges, however, teams will help decide who will receive what awards. Upon check in, your team will receive an Awards Ballot on which they will be able to nominate other teams for specific awards (you may not nominate your own team). In order to be eligible for an award, you must submit an Awards Ballot (signed by both a mentor and a student) to Pit Administration before finals on Saturday. You will be asked to include the team number and a brief reasoning as to why you think the team should receive the award. We will provide more detailed instructions on how these awards prior to the event.

Team Judged Awards will include:
- Gracious Professionalism
- Team Spirit
- Play of the Day
- Technical Award 1 (TBA)
- Technical Award 2 (TBA)

Non-Judged Awards will include:
- Champions
- Finalists
- Mentor Tournament Champions
- Skills Challenge Champion
- Most Canned Food Donated


**TEAM SOCIAL:

The Team Social is being hosted by the Lady Cans, team 2881. This will be held on Friday, July 29th from 7pm to 11pm across the street from the high school at St. Matthews. The event may include food, games, music, prizes, and more! Please contact Susie Rich at schrich@swbell.net if your team plans to attend!

Any events on Saturday night are still TBA.


**CANNED FOOD DRIVE:

The Texas Robot Round-up host team - the ausTIN CANs, team 2158 - will be holding a canned food drive during the event to donate to our local food bank. Team team who donates the most cans will receive an award. Canned food donations will also determine the order of alliance selections for the Mentor Tournament. Please turn in your canned goods when you sign in on Friday or Saturday.

[Pjohn1959]

Thanks for all the updates Jess. I like the scoring and rules changes. This will be a fun event. I can't wait to be there!

[JaneYoung]

Hi everybody,

The NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) meeting has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. It is scheduled for an hour but, if folks are interested, we can visit a little longer. Please pass the word to the adults on your teams that fill the non-engineering mentor roles. This could include technical mentors who also fill those roles and feel that you need some help in areas such team organization, fundraising, promotion and marketing, community outreach, team travel - and the list goes on and on.

We'll announce the meeting place at the event and signs will be posted. It will be in one of the classrooms in Anderson High School.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Jane

[JaneYoung]

Back again. The Central Texas Robotics Alliance will have a meeting on Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Anderson High School. It is scheduled for an hour and is an opportunity for the members to touch base and prepare to welcome our visiting teams. Signs will be posted at the event with the classroom number where the meeting will be held.

Jane

[Michael Blake]

WELL... here it comes in 3 DAYS!!

We're excited... our first off-season scrimmage... AND we'll _finally_ have a working arm/gripper... can you imagine that... ;-)

ANYONE else _excited_?!

See you there...

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by jessjank.

**TEAM SOCIAL:

The Team Social is being hosted by the Lady Cans, team 2881. This will be held on Friday, July 29th from 7pm to 11pm across the street from the high school at St. Matthews. The event may include food, games, music, prizes, and more! Please contact Susie Rich at schrich@swbell.net if your team plans to attend!

Any events on Saturday night are still TBA.

Jess,

Would you or Susie post the street address of St. Matthews? I'm not not sure which 'across the street' it is.

Thank you.

Jane

[jessjank.]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Jess,

Would you or Susie post the street address of St. Matthews? I'm not not sure which 'across the street' it is.

Thank you.

Jane

I'm not involved in planning the Social in any form. Susie can confirm this and any other details, but I believe the address is:
St. Matthew's Episcopal Church
8134 Mesa Dr.
Austin, TX 78759-8615

[jessjank.]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Hi everybody,

The NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) meeting has been scheduled for 1:00 p.m. on Saturday. It is scheduled for an hour but, if folks are interested, we can visit a little longer. Please pass the word to the adults on your teams that fill the non-engineering mentor roles. This could include technical mentors who also fill those roles and feel that you need some help in areas such team organization, fundraising, promotion and marketing, community outreach, team travel - and the list goes on and on.

We'll announce the meeting place at the event and signs will be posted. It will be in one of the classrooms in Anderson High School.

Can't wait to see everyone!

Jane

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Back again. The Central Texas Robotics Alliance will have a meeting on Friday at 3:00 p.m. in Anderson High School. It is scheduled for an hour and is an opportunity for the members to touch base and prepare to welcome our visiting teams. Signs will be posted at the event with the classroom number where the meeting will be held.

Jane

Jane - Just wanted to also say thank you for your efforts in planning these two awesome meetings that will certainly benefit everyone who attends! We're thrilled to be able to have a NEMO meeting and to continue building our Central Texas Robotics Alliance at TRR.

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by jessjank.

Jane - Just wanted to also say thank you for your efforts in planning these two awesome meetings that will certainly benefit everyone who attends! We're thrilled to be able to have a NEMO meeting and to continue building our Central Texas Robotics Alliance at TRR.

Thanks, Jess. I've gotten a lot of help with each of them from awesome mentors. I plan on thanking all of these mentors after the event but, I'd really like to thank the amazing Jenny Beatty for her help today! Thank you, Jenny!
--
Thanks for the help with the street address - I can get lost in a teacup.

Rock on, Jess Jank.

Jane